Facebook to be worth $234 billion by 2015

Facebook will have market value of $234 billion by 2015, up from its current valuation of $85 billion, according to an analysis by brokerage firm Wedbush Securities that analyzes the valuations of private companies.

Wedbush Securities analyst Lou Kerner, who made this guess in a report last week on the what he called the 'Second Internet', says by 2015 Facebook will earn $11 billion on $22 billion and have a market value of $234 billion, Business Insider said Thursday.

"That makes the company's recent second market valuation of $85 billion look like a fine deal indeed,'' the business web site said.

In his earlier predictions in February 2010, Kerner had said that Facebook might be worth $100 billion by 2015.

But he now thinks Facebook's margins are better - around 50 per cent - and that it will get a bigger share of the global ad market, according to the portal.

The analyst also believes "that other revenue sources - like Credits - will scale faster than he originally anticipated.''

Referring to the quick rise of companies as different as Facebook, Zynga, Twitter, The Huffington Post and Quora, the Wedbush Securities analysis says they are all player in what it calls the 'Second Internet'.''

Because of the social nature of this rising internet companies, the analysis describes this phenomenon as the rise of the 'Social Internet.'

According to the report, only one technology company - Apple - has a current higher market cap of $321 billion than that predicted for Facebook by 2015.

Hi-tech camera can make your pics better looking

Every girl wishes she could dab on some makeup to improve her looks before getting her picture clicked. Now, Panasonic's Lumin DMC-FX77 includes a built-in 'Beauty Retouch' mode which aims to whiten teeth, put colour on your cheeks and reduce wrinkles.

The airbrushing software on the camera, which includes a16 megapixel sensor and 3.5in TFT Touch Screen LCD display will even add makeup and smooth skin, the makers say.

Different modes aim to do different things to portraits and pictures of your face. Esthetic for example can clean up skin and teeth, the Daily Mail reports.

Several grades of 'face fixing' can be applied to pictures, the more intense levels can lead to the subject of the photo being more terrifying than attractive. Make-up mode is perhaps the most interesting.

Here, you are presented with a choice of colours and tones to apply foundation, blush and even lipstick.

The selection of colours range from subtle light brown eye shadow to a more shocking pink.

However, without yet fully testing the product, it is hard to say whether the end results can truly be seen as a real improvement.

But from pictures seen, before and after images show people being transformed into either super smooth skinned subjects with incredibly white teeth, or daubed in seemingly thick layers of makeup.

Best results are, apparently, achieved using Esthetic mode, which at between 60 or 80 per cent with 'head to shine removal' applied is said to gently glam up one's face.

The camera is essentially the European version of the Japanese Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP7.

Breakthrough could help hydrogen replace petrol as fuel

Hydrogen fuel could become viable as an eco-friendly alternative to petrol, thanks to a new process that allows it to be stored cheaply and practicably.

The technology utilises materials that soak up hydrogen like a sponge, and then encapsulates them in tiny plastic beads so small they behave like a liquid.

The process, based on a new way of producing nano-fibres from hydrides, is being developed by Cella Energy, a spin-off from UK Rutherford Appleton Lab.

The technique allows hydrogen to be released at a much faster rate and at lower temperatures than before, researchers said, the Daily Mail reports.

"What we've been doing is taking these materials and encasing them in plastic and making them into a very fine powder and that improves their properties," said Stephen Bennington, Cella Energy Chief Scientific Officer.

"It also means you can pump it like a fluid and it's safe. It is not gong to easily burst into flames," he said.

Hydrogen produces only water when it is burned and is considered an ideal solution to cutting carbon emissions from petrol or diesel vehicles, which are estimated to cause 25 per cent of all carbon release.

But until now, attempts to store hydrogen have not been consumer-friendly so this has not been a viable option. Cella Energy Ltd say their technology would allow people to use the carbon-free fuel with their existing car after a few modifications.

Discovery astronauts complete ’textbook’ spacewalk

Two space shuttle Discovery astronauts moved a failed ammonia cooling pump during a more than six-hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station.

NASA officials called Monday's work a "textbook" spacewalk, after overcoming a problem with the station's robotic arm that left astronaut Steve Bowen holding the weightless pump for a bit longer than expected.

It was the first of two spacewalks in the shuttle mission, which is Discovery's last before the spacecraft is retired.

NASA said after the spacewalk that it had decided to add another day to the mission, making it a 12-day affair, in order to allow Discovery astronauts to help with work setting up a new room that it carried aloft.

Astronauts Bowen and Alvin Drew also installed a back-up power extension cable and camera equipment and did other work to make future spacewalks easier.

Before heading back inside, they filled a metal container with the vacuum of space as part of a Japanese experiment called "Message in a Bottle" that will later be displayed on Earth.

The cooling pump broke last year and had to be relocated from a temporary storage location where it had been stashed on an earlier spacewalk. It had to be moved before it can be taken back to Earth for analysis.

The six-hour, 34-minute spacewalk wrapped up at 2220 GMT.A second spacewalk is set for Wednesday.

Two more shuttle flights are planned for later this year in the final missions for the rest of the fleet, Endeavour and Atlantis.

Discovery's mission is delivering the last major US contribution to the ISS - an extra room - along with supplies and equipment, including a human-like robot, known as Robonaut 2 (R2), the first such robot ever sent to space.

Apple launches iPad 2

A thin but energetic Steve Jobs made a surprise return to the spotlight on Wednesday, taking the stage to unveil Apple Inc's new iPad and drawing a standing ovation.

The Silicon Valley legend has been out on medical leave since late January and his reappearance, in trademark turtleneck and jeans, bolstered Apple shares and reassured investors and fans worried about his health.

Defying speculation in some tabloid reports that he was seriously ailing, Jobs took swipes at rivals and mocked competing tablet computers. Striding back and forth across the stage at the Yerba Buena Center, Jobs spoke passionately about the iPad 2's features as No. 2 and heir apparent Tim Cook looked on.

The $499 device is thinner than the iPhone 4, twice as fast as the last tablet, camera-equipped, and ships March 11 in the United States and March 25 in 26 more countries. The surprisingly fast roll-out highlights the fierce competition in

the tablet market.

"We've been working on this product for a while and I just didn't want to miss today," Jobs told a packed auditorium in San Francisco with his characteristic flair and energy.

A relaxed-looking Jobs lingered near the theater stage for more than 20 minutes after the show wrapped up, chatting amiably with acquaintances and Apple employees.

In the run-up to the event, there had been almost as much speculation about whether Jobs would appear as there was about the device itself.

Jobs, who has been treated for a rare form of pancreatic cancer, remains on medical leave for an undisclosed condition. An Apple spokesman referred questions about his medical leave back to Jobs' statement in January that he planned to remain involved in major strategic decisions for the company.

His appearance on Wednesday comes at a critical moment. Apple is launching the next generation of its ground-breaking tablet computer just as its main adversaries are releasing their first such devices.

"Steve Jobs is the most important asset for Apple without a doubt and that's why investors are so curious about whether he will remain and continue to have an impact," said Robert Lutts,

chief investment officer at Cabot Money Management. "The stock went up after his appearance but not as much as it normally would if Apple had a fully healthy CEO."

IPAD 2 ARRIVES NEXT WEEK

The iPad 2 goes on sale at AT&T Inc and Verizon Wireless, and at $499 is about $100 cheaper than Motorola Mobility's Xoom. Its shares slid 4 percent. Avian Securities analyst Matthew Thornton said Motorola investors were concerned by both its earlier-than-expected release and its still-aggressive pricing.

"The hardware is as good as anything on the market, the price is still very aggressive, and the software just buries the competition," said Gartner analyst Van Baker. "They're still the guys to beat by a large margin."

"This does serious damage to the competitors in the market. Xoom now looks like an extraordinarily expensive tablet, and the HP tablet looks under-featured." Apple sold nearly 15 million iPads in nine months of 2010, two or three times as many as analysts had predicted. The company is expected to sell 30 million or more this year, which would generate close to $20 billion in sales.

That is despite a growing cast of competitors like Motorola, Research in Motion and Hewlett-Packard Co. Shares of Cupertino, California-based Apple were up 1.2

percent at $353.44 on Nasdaq late Wednesday afternoon. "It's pretty positive. It's definitely a sign that he's in good enough health," said Vijay Rakesh at Sterne Agee.

Tablets are seen as a must-have device for consumers and many businesses over the next few years. Analysts expect the market to surge to more than 50 million units this year, and 200 million units by 2015.

As in the smartphone market, Apple's chief rival is expected to be Google Inc's Android platform, which is free to license and is being used on a number of tablets.

The iPad, along with the iPhone, is expected to fuel Apple's growth over the next several years. The two product lines already make up more than half the company's revenue. Apple's products tend to be priced at a premium to its rivals, but the iPad has been priced aggressively low versus the competition, both to dominate the market and because the company can leverage its own retail network and pre-bought manufacturing capacity.

That has pinched the company's margins, a problem Apple seems happy to live with if the tablet can deliver such startling growth.

A longer-term problem might be the question of who might replace Jobs were he to step down -- Cook is the favorite for the top job and has been running Apple in his boss's absence. But for now, concerns that Jobs might have to exit --stirred by sensationalist and unsubstantiated tabloid reports -- appear to be allayed by Wednesday's proceedings.

"Investors know his illness is pretty serious, but it's comforting to know that while he's in his supposed leave of absence, he's still involved," said Capital Advisors Growth Fund co-manager Channing Smith. "The new product looks good and

the key is they continue to innovate, which is what we want to watch rather than looking at Steve Jobs." Apple shares rose 0.8 percent to close at $352.12 on

Nasdaq. It held steady in after-hours trade.

How Apple's iPad 2 compares to rivals

Here's how Apple Inc's iPad 2, unveiled on Wednesday, stacks up against competing tablets.

BY THE NUMBERS:

iPad 2

Price: $499-$829

Weight: 1.33 lbs

Height: 9.5 inches

Width: 7.3 inches

Depth: 0.34 inches

Technicals: Runs on 1GHz dual-core A5 processor, iOS 3.4

Available: March 11

iPad - original

Price: $499-$829

Weight: 1.5 lbs

Height: 9.6 inches

Width: 7.5 inches

Depth: 0.5 inches

Technicals: Runs on 1GHz A4 processor

Motorola Mobility Xoom

Price: $600-$799

Available: Since February

Software: Android

Weight: 1.6 lbs

Height: 9.8 inches

Width: 6.6 inches

Depth: 0.5 inches

Tech: Runs on 1GHz Dual Core processor with Android 3.0

Honeycomb

Research In Motion PlayBook

Price: TBA

Available: Probably March

Weight 0.9 lbs

Height 5.1 inches

Width 7.6 inches

Depth 0.4 inches

Tech: Runs on 1 GHz dual-core processor with BlackBerry OS

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Price: TBA

Screen: 10.1 inch-display

Weight: 1.3 lbs

Tech: Runs om 1 GHz dual-core processor with Android 3.0

Honeycomb

Available: TBA